Jesus Christ, Healer of the World

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In Mormon thought, humans are neither capable of unaided advancement to godliness nor accurately described as depraved. They are agents made free by Christ’s Atonement, enticed by darkness while yearning for the light.

“In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.” is a false teaching.
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We believe that most people both inside and outside the Church “are trying to do right,” as Brigham Young said. “I am in the midst of Saints, or at least of those who profess to be Saints; and if they are not Saints, I think they are trying to become so with all their might.” Yet, we are weighed down. Few of us may feel on the precipice of  damnation, but we all feel wounded and weary. Is there a language that can speak more meaningfully—yet truthfully—to our predicament? 

Translators have difficult choices to make. The term most frequently rendered in the King James Bible as save is the Greek word sodzo. And he who saves is the soter, based on that same word. But when Luke used the identical term sodzo, it was to describe Jesus’ act of curing the blind man of his affliction (Luke 18). Mark used sodzo when Jesus made the girl whole from the plague (Mark 5). And Matthew  employed the term sodzo when the hemorrhaging woman, touching the Lord’s hem, was restored to health (Matthew 9). In all these and numerous other cases, the word often translated as save is more aptly rendered heal. Jesus healed the blind, healed the girl of the plague, and healed the woman with the issue of blood. In other words, rather than render the Messiah’s title of soter as Savior, we could with equal linguistic justification call him Jesus Christ, Son of God, Healer of the World. ("How We've Been Misunderstanding God's Title of 'Savior'", 6 Nov 2017, Fiona Givens and Terryl Givens, excerpted from "The Christ Who Heals" )

Jesus Christ our place of healing.

One virtue of such a substitution is that healing signals the beginning of a glorious journey now unfolding, while saving implies its end. And we are all very much in eternity’s morning. In Joseph’s favorite biblical translation, the word for Savior is das Heiland. Heil is from the verb heilen and means “to heal.” Land denotes a geographical location. Das Heiland could, therefore, be translated correctly as “place of healing.” In other words, our place of healing is Christ. Julian of Norwich emphasized this even more emphatically when she wrote: “The blessed woundes of oure Saviour be opyn and enjoye to hele us.”

"I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands"

Can a woman forget her sucking child, 

that she should not have compassion 

on the son of her womb? 

yea, they may forget, 

yet will I not forget thee.

Behold, I have graven thee 

upon the palms of my hands; 

thy walls are continually before me.

(Isaiah 49:15-16)

No Service Which is Vile Can be Done to Me

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I think there are many in the world who have experienced significant happiness in their lives even if they do not believe in Christ. Some of the best people I have ever known come from different religious traditions and belief structures, some of which do not include any concept of a Savior. But they love their families. They love their neighbors. They are honest and hardworking and humble. They are willing to see their faults and not to frantically ignore or gloss over them. They are humbly “down” as we have been discussing. And, when they are, I would suggest that they are humbly down before Christ even if they don’t know that they are. 

A passage in one of C. S. Lewis’s books is instructive here. In the final book of the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Last Battle, there is an exchange between the Christ-figure, who is the lion Aslan, and a man who for all his life had been the devoted follower of a wicked and false god known as Tash. When he realized that he had been serving the wrong master, the man fell before Aslan, expecting to be destroyed. But Aslan—the “Glorious One”—“bent down his golden head and touched [the man’s] forehead with his tongue” and said:

Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. . . . I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him.

I believe that the Lord’s grace is immense enough that he blesses people with his Spirit even if they know nothing about it. The world over, there are those who are, in effect, kneeling before him even though they don’t know who he is. But he knows who they are. He knows them, and he knows their hearts. And when they or we bow in humble recognition of our faults, we bow before him and are blessed of him. ("Falling to Heaven: The Surprising Path to Happiness", James L. Ferrell p.27)

Born to Give Me Second Birth

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, second verse

1. Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations, rise;
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th'angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem!

(Chorus)
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!

2. Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Ris'n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

He is the Great Mediator

It's a very difficult thing to go through: to kneel down and desire to speak to my Father in Heaven when I am so lonely or when I am so anguished. It's an interesting conversation to have. He doesn't immediately try to make it better. He listens to me first.. and I thought that was very helpful.  

He allowed me to get that anger off my chest. But inevitably He would come back and teach me about His Son, Jesus Christ. When I did feel anger, or there was just a deep sense of loneliness, I didn't direct that at the person that had caused this. It directed itself at the Savior. ("Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light", Forgiveness and the power of Jesus Christ enable a man to survive losing his wife and several children in a car accident, MormonMessages, 28 Jul 2010)

Have I decided what I would do in this case?

Will I allow the Savior to take the pain and grief of what has happened to me. Will I allow Him to take the pain and grief I have caused?

Jesus was in the Ashes

The talk from Sister Wixom, Sunday morning is powerful. We ought to follow the example of the lady in the story. Question everything. Search, seek. I would hope that we all might have the support she had. Understanding. Non judgment. Support. Willing to accept whatever offering she was willing to give.

Her testimony was burned down. In the ashes Jesus was left. He is at the center of my testimony. The lady built her testimony on him. Primary songs do have such simple and powerful ideas. I love them and cherish them. She then built upon that with searching the new testament. She was then drawn to the Book of Mormon. There is no more powerful testimony of Jesus in the Book of Mormon.

The testimony of the lady grew bit by bit. She focused on what she knew. I imagine she plowed deep the soil of her soul. She prepared her own heart so that the seeds of the word of God would have room to root deeply in her soil. She nurtured and tended and watched carefully for signs that the seeds growing were good. She experienced the fruit after persistent and tender care.

A Quiet Word

It started out as a feeling

Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye

Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never been this way before
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
As you head off to the war
Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light
You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye
You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye

Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes
You'll come back when they call you
No need to say goodbye
You'll come back when they call you
No need to say goodbye

This song filled my heart this morning. As I thought about the lyrics, I could tell what she was singing about.

"It started out as a feeling" I can imagine for someone, this is how it began. A feeling that there is more. More than this flesh and blood and life and death.

"Which then grew into a hope" Then it became a hope. That maybe it is true. That God exists and lives and is wonderfully loving and powerful.

"Which then turned into a quiet thought" This one way the Spirit speaks to me. It is a thought placed in my mind. A seed if not rejected, swells.

"Which then turned into a quiet word" What is that word? It is Christ! He is the One. He is the Word.

He loves us more than we are capable to love in return. He is willing to forgive us. He will bless us, sanctify us, if we are willing, to live with him again in a glorious kingdom.

We will become like him. Be one with him as he is one with the Father.

"I'll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye"
He has conquered death. We will rise because of him never to be separated from our glorious, perfect bodies. We will see our loved ones again. We have the opportunity to live with them forever.

"Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet"
It is now the day after you first recognized the spirit testifying of the name of Jesus. You wonder if it was all real. You hope it was. You immediately get a confirmation that is was real. But your friends have forgotten.

"Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes"
Keep the faith. Grow it. Feed it. Let its roots go down to the living waters. Until you stand before Him in the flesh.

He will receive you. He will embrace you. He will continue to bless you to the extent that you are willing.

A Panoramic View of His Earthly Ministry

"The Sacrament—and the Sacrifice" David B. Haight, General Conference, Oct 1989.

Elder Haight shares a dream and vision he had of the Savior as he recovered from a serious operation.

A Different View on the Scapegoat

"Two Things That Happened Yesterday" by Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
A great article that made me look at the idea of the scapegoat in a different way

Embracing Grace

From http://thingsofmysoul.blogspot.com/2007/11/embracing-grace.html

I know you understand my weakness; I know you know my struggles and pains; I know you know how I feel about myself; I know you love me and have bought me, anyway. From now on, I will trust your promise and, despite my continuing frustration and my continuing weakness and my continuing failures, I will bounce back each time and continue to grow. I will not despair; I will accept my weakness and imperfection and failure, knowing you don't care, because you love me, anyway. I will get back up each time I am knocked down and continue to walk toward you, until you embrace me and say, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant' - knowing I don't deserve it and being eternally grateful for the grace that so fully you proffered me.

To be Willing...

In the sacrament each week, we witness to our Father in Heaven that we are "willing to take upon [us] the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given [us]" (D&C 20:77). Why does it say willing? Elder Oaks said the following:

It is significant that when we partake of the sacrament we do not witness that we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. We witness that we are willing to do so. The fact that we only witness to our willingness suggests that something else must happen before we actually take that sacred name upon us in the most important sense. 

What future event or events could this covenant contemplate? The scriptures suggest two sacred possibilities, one concerning the authority of God, especially as exercised in the temples, and the other—closely related—concerning exaltation in the celestial kingdom. (Emphasis in original, "Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ" Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Apr 1985)

Later on, he says,

Willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ can therefore be understood as willingness to take upon us the authority of Jesus Christ. According to this meaning, by partaking of the sacrament we witness our willingness to participate in the sacred ordinances of the temple and to receive the highest blessings available through the name and by the authority of the Savior when he chooses to confer them upon us.

And again,

when we witness our willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, we are signifying our commitment to do all that we can to achieve eternal life in the kingdom of our Father. We are expressing our candidacy—our determination to strive for—exaltation in the celestial kingdom.

Finally,

what we witness is not that we take upon us his name but that we are willing to do so. In this sense, our witness relates to some future event or status whose attainment is not self-assumed, but depends on the authority or initiative of the Savior himself. 

Scriptural references to the name of Jesus Christ often signify the authority of Jesus Christ. In that sense, our willingness to take upon us his name signifies our willingness to take upon us the authority of Jesus Christ in the sacred ordinances of the temple, and to receive the highest blessings available through his authority when he chooses to confer them upon us.

There is power in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The power is to the sanctifying of our heart, mind and body. That we become holy, without spot. That we become his hands and feet to the serving of those around us. That we do what He would do if He were here. That we have the ability to preach by the power of the Holy Ghost that it might be delivered unto the hearts of the children of men. That those who will take in that teaching might benefit of the same eternal gift of life. And that we all are brought into his presence.

There are so many promises here. And it begins with the smallest of steps. Only to be willing to take upon us the name of the Son of God. Only to turn my heart and say, yes, I will do what is takes to receive the name of thy Son. To be His representative. To deliver the saving message and ordinances of the doctrine of Christ.

Why Hope?

We hear the phrase in the scriptures "faith, hope and charity". Gerald N. Lund had a calling to teach a monthly class on spiritual and temporal preparation. He was trying to figure out what to teach on. Here is an excerpt from his conversation with Heidi Swinton.

I had started to notice that more and more I was hearing people just talk about how tough life is for them right now. This was right when the economic crash came. We got people out of work. You are seeing retirees going back to work because they can't survive because they lost all their retirement.  

It was that and I met a man who'd been active in the church his whole life, had held a lot of positions in the priesthood and his basic response was, "you know what I've tried it all, I've prayed I've been faithful, I've served in the church, God doesn't hear my prayers. That means He doesn't care. I've had it. I'm through with it." and [he] left the church. That was the most dramatic.  

One day in fast meeting a fellow in our ward got up and basically said farewell to the ward. He said that they were going to be moving and he got quite emotional and he said that one of the the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life is try to explain tell his 16 year old son why they were moving in with Grandma.  

I was hearing all this kind of stuff, so I decided this one night I was going to do one of my classes on hope. We talked and asked, why is it faith, hope and charity? Frankly I used to think why isn't it faith, revelation and charity or faith and repentance and charity or faith, obedience and charity? 

Faith, yes I can see that. Charity yes, but why hope? And so as I started studying it, I started to sense that here was the answer to these problems. Why is it that some people...  You know we talked earlier about the strength of the pioneers and their faithfulness and so on but there are some that weren't. You don't have to read too far to find out the stories of drop out pioneers, who are facing no more difficult challenges than some of the faithful ones.  

So what makes the difference, why does one stay faithful maybe even strengthened by adversity where someone else says, "that's it I'm outta here", turns bitter and so on? That has intrigued me for a long time. It doesn't intrigue me any more. I know the answer.  

The difference is hope.  

I remember two or three conferences ago President Uchtdorf talked about hope and he defined it as trust in the promises of the Lord. He said hope is not knowledge, it's trust in the promises of the Lord.  

When you hear as I recently did of a woman who lost a teenage daughter to an automobile accident. She talked about the pain and the loss. Even now two or three years later, even the tiniest thing will set her off and she starts to cry for her loss. But she said, I choose hope. I know where she is and I choose hope.  

And I thought, "that's the difference. That's what brings the strength". And so, I decided to turn it into a book.  Probably the most difficult one I've written for some reason. A really great learning experience for me personally.
(59:33 - 1:04:20)

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He Is The One

He can make the ocean dry
He can stay the setting sun
Creator of the earth and sky
He is the One

He can tame the raging wind
Make the mountains tremble
Master of miracles
He is the One

He is the One who carves my heart into
A smoother stone
He is the One who gives me strength
When I am too weak to move on
He is everything I need
Mighty power and Holy peace
He is the One

He can calm a restless soul
He will save a fallen stranger
A refuge where my heart can go
He is the One
He offers saving grace
In a world that offers none
And I will live to sing His praise
He sees me for what I can become

He is the One who carves my heart into
A smoother stone
He is the One who gives me strength
When I am too weak to move on
He is everything I need
Mighty power and Holy peace
He is the One
He is the One

(Audrey Bandley, Especially For Youth - EFY 2011)

Scriptures and other thoughts as I listened:
"the way, the truth and the life" John 14:6
"Is there no balm in Gilead?" Jeremiah 8:22
"Why are ye fearful? ...he arose, and rebuked the winds" Matthew 8:26
"a huge, rough stone rolling ... become a smooth and polished shaft" Joseph Smith (hotc, 5:401)
"we shall be like him" 1 John 3:2-3
"Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" Mark 9:24
"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." John 14:18
"If God had commanded me to do all things" 1 Nephi 17:50
"cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save" Alma 34:18
"my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth" John 14:27
"that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live" Alma 33:19
"to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" John 6:67-68

Two Commandments

From The Holy Secret

Have you ever wondered why the Lord, in the garden of Eden, gave Adam and Eve two commandments that couldn't both be kept at the same time?

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"What compelled them to turn to the Savior?"
"Their transgression of the law", Michael nodded "Their brokenness under the law awakened them to their need for a Savior. A Savior who could then take them far beyond where they had been."

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When we like the people of King Benjamin and Adam and Eve before them, become awakened to our brokenness under the law and throw ourselves contritely at the Lord's feet, He will make our scarlet sins as snow and purify our broken hearts that we too might be changed by the Spirit into beings that "have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually' (Mosiah 5:2)
Which brings us to the central, contrition-inviting hub of the commandments, the sin-exposing commandment of the Sabbath...

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Lifting Burdens: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Come unto Jesus. He can make us whole. In addition, he enables the good to be better and the better to be the best. He is the All in All. He is the King of Kings. In Him is all light and goodness and strength and happiness.

Here are the quotes in this video:

When we are racked or harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us. While we do not fully understand how the Atonement of Christ was made, we can experience “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” (Phillip 4:7) (“The Touch of the Master’s Hand”, Boyd K. Packer, April 2001)

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Through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our natures can be changed. Then our power to carry burdens can be increased more than enough (O Ye That Embark, Henry B. Eyring, Oct 2008)

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We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities.(The Great Commandment, Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct 2007)

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Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) I testify that that is God’s truth. Christ is everything to us and we are to “abide” in Him permanently, unyieldingly, steadfastly, forever. For the fruit of the gospel to blossom and bless our lives, we must be firmly attached to Him ("Abide in Me", Jeffrey R. Holland, Apr 2004)

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He is Jesus Christ, the Holy One of Israel, “full of grace, and mercy, and truth. … It is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.” (Alma 5:48) (Gaining a Testimony of God the Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost, Robert D. Hales, Apr 2008)

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I witness the reality and divinity of a living Savior who invites us to come unto Him and be transformed... we can be spiritually prepared and cleansed from sin, immersed in and saturated with His gospel, and purified and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise—even born again. (Ye Must Be Born Again, David A. Bednar, Apr 2007)

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We invite everyone on this beautiful planet to taste of His doctrine and see if it is not sweet and good and precious. We ask those of sincere heart to learn of this doctrine and ask their Father in Heaven if it is not true. And by doing so, all can discover, embrace, and walk in the true faith of their Father, which faith will make them whole. (See Matt 9:22) (Faith of Our Father, Dieter F. Uctdorf, Apr 2008)

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“Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives!’” (Job 19:25) May the whole world know it and live by that knowledge, I humbly pray (I Know That My Redeemer Lives!, Thomas S. Monson, Apr 2007)

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Lamb of God

Lamb of God is a wonderful musical presentation about the Savior written by Rob Gardner. He is trying to get funding for a concert film about it.

His Love Will Find You

I love the hymn Come Unto Jesus

Come unto Jesus, ye heavy laden,
Care-worn and fainting, by sin oppressed.
He'll safely guide you unto that haven
Where all who trust him may rest.

Come unto Jesus; He'll ever heed you,
Though in the darkness you've gone astray.
His love will find you and gently lead you
From darkest night into day.

Come unto Jesus; He'll surely hear you,
If you in meekness plead for his love.
Oh, know you not that angels are near you
From brightest mansions above?

Come unto Jesus from every nation,
From ev'ry land and isle of the sea.
Unto the high and lowly in station,
Ever he calls, "Come to me"

Why is Jesus Important to me?

This seems like such a fundamental question. I am going to try to break down my feelings for Jesus Christ and why He is so valuable to me.

I have felt the consequences of my sin. There have been times when I recognize that I have acted against God's will resulting in the pain and harm of those I love. As I have prayed to know the right thing to do, I have been inspired to how to reconcile myself to God and to those I have offended. When I surrendered to those promptings and asked for forgiveness from the person(s) and from God, I have felt an immediate flood of relief and joy in my heart. It is especially potent when the other person frankly forgives me. It feels so good to be right with what I know God would want me to do. 

From the Book of Mormon, the New Testament and elsewhere in the scriptures, I have learned about the fall of Adam and how sin came into the world. I see this life as a chance to choose between right and wrong with only faith and my conscience (or light from God) to guide me. As I have followed that light I have been filled with joy.

That light of God comes from Jesus Christ. He was chosen before the world was created to be our Savior. We all agreed to come from God's presence into this world, so we can grow to be more like our Heavenly Parents. From Jesus comes all Good. He created the earth. All the good you see in this world comes from Him.

Jesus lived a perfect life. He came to earth as the physical son of Mary and of Heavenly Father. Because of that he had power to lay down his life and to take it up again. Because he was the son of Mary, he was subject to the normal ills of life. He grew up as a normal child.  Only he did not choose evil.  Not even once. 

At the end of his life he suffered for our sins. In a garden, he bled from every pore as he willingly allowed himself to feel the consequence of every sin ever committed. Not only sin, but every pain and heartache ever felt by any one on earth or that would ever be felt. He was able to withstand this because he is the Son of God. He was tested to the limits of his abilities. And He succeeded!  In all this pain He never sinned. He died for our sins and then lifted himself up on the third day. He lives again! And because he did, every person will live again in a perfected body.

Why is Jesus so important to me? He is everything that is Good. He has blazed the path for me to be joined forever to that Good if I only will. 

I've always been able to count on you

At 17:08 in the video Mr Willie Krueger imagines himself visiting the baby Jesus in the manger.

I'm Willy Krueger and I'm custodian over at the Beck Apartments, but, but you know that, don't you. You know that. I guess nobody here can see me or hear me except you. I didn't bring a gift, I, but I, I guess that's not important. Thank you for everything you've done for me. As long as I can remember you've been right by my side. I'll never forget when you walked with me right in those first few hours after I lost Martha. I-I've always been able to count on you, when I felt dark inside and when I... You were right there, right, every time, right there. Even when I didn't feel good about myself, I knew that you cared for me enough, and that, that made me feel better. Like that time I got mad with Mabel Huntington because she broke her pipes on purpose just so she could have somebody to see while I came up and fixed them for her. Boy, I hollered at her, boy I hollered real loud. But then, then I got to thinking - you loved Mabel just as much as you loved me and I should treat her the way you want me to. I believe I talked to you about that at the time. Well, I started visiting her and we became friends. I saw her almost every day until the day she died. I love you. You're my closest, my finest friend. And that means that I can hold my head high, wherever I go. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Emphasis added)

At the end
'Narrator: "I love you." That's what Christmas is all about... Clarissa said it to Mr. Krueger; Mr. Krueger said it to Jesus; and Jesus in so many ways said it to all of us.'

What Mormons Believe About Jesus Christ

I just came across an article that describes in detail what Mormons believe about Jesus Christ.  To me it is a comprehensive and accurate essay of my beliefs of Christ, though a little academic.

It is "excerpts ...taken from an address to the Harvard Divinity School in March 2001 by Robert L. Millet, former dean of religious education at Brigham Young University"

The money quote from the article,

Given the challenges we face in our society — fatherless homes, child and spouse abuse, divorce, poverty, spreading crime and delinquency — it seems so foolish for men and women who believe in God, whose hearts and lives have been surrendered to that God, to allow doctrinal differences to prevent them from working together.

On how we differ from traditional Christianity about Jesus Christ.

In an effort to satisfy the accusations of Jews who denounced the notion of three Gods (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) as polytheistic, and at the same time incorporate ancient but appealing Greek philosophical concepts of an all-powerful moving force in the universe, the Christian church began to redefine the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One classic work describes the intersection of Christian theology and Greek philosophy: “It is impossible for any one, whether he be a student of history or no, to fail to notice a difference of both form and content between the sermons on the Mount and the Nicene Creed. … The one belongs to a world of Syrian peasants, the other to a world of Greek philosophers. … The religion which our Lord preached ... took the Jewish conception of a Father in heaven, and gave it a new meaning.” In short, “Greek Christianity of the fourth century was rooted in Hellenism. The Greek minds which had been ripening for Christianity had absorbed new ideas and new motives.”[i] 

What is the result? Such Platonic concepts as the immutability, impassibility and timelessness of God made their way into Christian theology. As one group of Evangelical scholars has stated: “Many Christians experience an inconsistency between their beliefs about the nature of God and their religious practice. For example, people who believe that God cannot change his mind sometimes pray in ways that would require God to do exactly that. And Christians who make use of the free will defense for the problem of evil sometimes ask God to get them a job or a spouse, or keep them from being harmed, implying that God should override the free will of others in order to achieve these ends. ... 

“These inharmonious elements are the result of the coupling of biblical ideas about God with notions of the divine nature drawn from Greek thought. The inevitable encounter between biblical and classical thought in the early church generated many significant insights and helped Christianity evangelize pagan thought and culture. Along with the good, however, came a certain theological virus that infected the Christian doctrine of God, making it ill and creating the sorts of problems mentioned above. The virus so permeates Christina theology that some have come to take the illness for granted, attributing it to divine mystery, while others remain unaware of the infection altogether.” [Clark Pinnock, Richard Rice, John Sanders, William Hasker and David Basinger, The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God (Downer Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1994), 9–10.]

A quote given from Joseph Smith in the article.

Why should it be thought a thing incredible that the Lord should be pleased to speak again in these last days for their salvation? Perhaps you may be surprised at this assertion that I should say ‘for the salvation of his creatures in these last days’ since we have already in our possession a vast volume of his word [the Bible] which he has previously given. But you will admit that the word spoken to Noah was not sufficient or Abraham. … Isaac, the promised seed, was not required to rest his hope upon the promises made to his father Abraham, but was privileged with the assurance of [God’s] approbation in the sight of heaven by the direct voice of the Lord to him. … I have no doubt but that the holy prophets and apostles and saints in the ancient days were saved in the kingdom of God. … I may believe that Enoch walked with God. I may believe that Abraham communed with God and conversed with angels. … And have I not an equal privilege with the ancient saints? And will not the Lord hear my prayers, and listen to my cries as soon [as] he ever did to theirs, if I come to him in the manner they did? Or is he a respecter of persons? (Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, comp. Dean C. Jessee (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1984), 297–301; spelling and punctuation corrected.)

 I loved the story of the beginning of the dialog Robert Millet has had with evangelical Christians.

A number of years ago a colleague and I traveled with two Evangelical Christian friends to another part of the country to meet with a well-known theologian, author and pastor/teacher in that area. We had read several of his books and had enjoyed his preaching over the years. As a part of an outreach effort to better understand those of other faiths (and to assist them to understand us a little better), we have visited such institutions as Notre Dame, Catholic University, Baylor, Wheaton College and various religious colleges and seminaries. We met this particular pastor and then attended his church services on both Sunday morning and Sunday evening and in both meetings were impressed with the depth and inspiration of his preaching. 

The next day we met for lunch and had a wonderful two-hour doctrinal discussion. I explained that we had no set agenda, except that we had admired his writings and wanted to meet him. We added that we had several questions we wanted to pose in order to better understand Evangelical theology. I mentioned that as the dean of religious education (at that time), I oversaw the teaching of religion to some 30,000 young people at Brigham Young University and that I felt it would be wise for me to be able to articulate properly the beliefs of our brothers and sisters of other faiths. I hoped, as well, that they might make the effort to understand our beliefs so as to represent accurately what we teach. 

Early in our conversation the minister said something like: “Look, anyone knows there are big difference between us. But I don’t want to focus on those differences. Let’s talk about Christ.” We then discussed the person of Jesus, justification by faith, baptism, sanctification, salvation, heaven, hell, agency and predestination, premortal existence and a number of other fascinating topics. We compared and contrasted, we asked questions and we answered questions. In thinking back on what proved to be one of the most stimulating and worthwhile learning experiences of our lives, the one thing that characterized our discussion, and the one thing that made the biggest difference, was the mood that existed there — a mood of openness, candor and a general lack of defensiveness. We knew what we believed, and we were all committed to our own religious tradition. But we were eager to learn where the other person was coming from.

Jesus is the "prototype of all saved beings, the standard of salvation" see Lectures on Faith, 7:9

How should we react to those who do not consider us Christian?

Knowing what I know, feeling what I feel and having experienced what I have in regard to the person and power of the Savior, it is difficult for me to be patient and loving toward those who denounce me as a non-Christian. But I am constrained to do so in the spirit of Him who also was misunderstood and misrepresented. While it would be a wonderful thing to have others acknowledge our Christianity, we do not court favor nor will we compromise our distinctiveness.